Box Office Poison

Hollywood’s Story in a Century of Flops

Tim Robey

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Paperback

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English

Faber & Faber
02 December 2025

Film, TV & Radio; Film theory & criticism; Film movie guides & reviews; Film & movie: styles & genres

'So entertaining, smart and funny.' DAVID NICHOLLS

'Beautifully written. I really enjoyed it.' MARINA HYDE

'Fascinating.' EMPIRE 'Wildly enjoyable.' GUARDIAN 'Hugely entertaining.' PROSPECT

'Failure fascinates, for all the reasons that success is a drag . . .'

From grand follies to misunderstood masterpieces, disastrous sequels to cat-astrophic literary adaptations, Tim Robey's hugely entertaining Box Office Poison tells an alternative history of Hollywood, through a century of its most notable flops.

Freaks, Land of the Pharaohs, Dune, Speed 2, Catwoman, Cats: what can these films tell us about the Hollywood system, the public's appetite - or lack of it - and the circumstances that saw such box office disasters actually made? Away from the canon, here is the definitive take on these ill-fated, but essential celluloid failures.

'Expertly researched.' SIGHT & SOUND

'A rollicking, gossipy triumph.' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'Amusing and wince-inducing in equal measure.' INDEPENDENT

By: Tim Robey
Imprint: Faber & Faber
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: Main
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm,
ISBN: 9780571381210
ISBN 10: 0571381219
Pages: 352
Publication Date: 02 December 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Since 2000, Tim Robey has reviewed films, written features and conducted interviews for the Daily Telegraph's arts pages. He appears regularly on Radio 4's Front Row and Monocle FM Radio, contributed to R4's now-defunct Film Programme, and appeared as a sofa guest on BBC Film 2015-2017. He gave Cats zero stars, but has now seen it four times. His favourite film is Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line (1998).